Nobel Foundation Preview on the 6th
Official Lighting from 7th to 15th
"White, by nature is nothing at all, but within that nothingness, everything exists."
On the 6th, one day before the opening of Nobel Week Light (local time), images of female Nobel Literature Prize winners, including writer Han Kang, were projected onto the exterior wall of Stockholm City Hall in the Swedish capital. Photo by Yonhap News
On the afternoon of the 6th (local time), a Korean sentence along with a photo of novelist Han Kang appeared on the outer wall of Stockholm City Hall, the capital of Sweden, followed shortly by the same sentence translated into English in the same spot.
The Nobel Foundation explained that this is "a sentence from the novel 'Heen' (English title 'The White Book')."
The face of Nobel Literature Prize laureate Han Kang and his sentence were captured in the lighting illuminating Stockholm. The Foundation completed preparations for the 'Nobel Week Lighting' and held a press tour explaining its significance on the day.
The Nobel Week Lighting is installed throughout Stockholm every year by various artists with new themes. After inspection at the 'preview' event on this day, the official lighting will take place from the 7th to the 15th.
Notable installations include the video (media facade) 'Leading Lights' projected by laser on the outer wall of Stockholm City Hall and the lighting 'de Aderton' installed on the pier opposite City Hall.
Both lightings were created to honor the outstanding achievements of female Nobel laureates.
The Foundation pays special attention to female laureates because women have been far fewer than men among the awardees throughout history.
From 1901, when the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace were first awarded, and including the Economics Prize added in 1969, a total of 1,012 individuals or organizations have been awarded 627 times over 123 years.
Since some have won more than once, the total number of laureates is 976 individuals and 28 organizations. Among these, women (counting individuals only) have received the prize 66 times. Considering that Marie Curie won twice, the number of female laureates is 65, which is less than 7% of the total.
The Literature Prize received by Han Kang is also male-dominated. Since 1901, a total of 121 people have received this prize, of whom only 18 were women, accounting for just 14.9%.
Swedish writer Selma Lagerl?f was the first woman to receive the Literature Prize in 1909, and Toni Morrison was the first non-white woman to win it in 1993. Han Kang is the first Asian female laureate.
In the official explanation of de Aderton, the Foundation stated, "We recognize the gender imbalance among laureates, and this work was created to celebrate female writers."
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